Teach Me Piano Reviewer's Comments

Teach Me Piano Deluxe, our # 1 ranked piano lesson software and "TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award" winner, includes all of the features of Voyetra's best-selling Teach Me Piano, plus more. This first-rate deluxe version includes games and recording options to explore beyond basic instruction into the realm of fun.

This self-paced teaching tool utilizes video and animated demonstrations, quality sound and illustrations to support their lessons. The program is flexible enough to be valuable training for the person that can't read a single note and the accomplished player who is out of practice.

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Ease of Use:  

Teach Me Piano Deluxe has succeeded in creating an atmosphere that is friendly and conducive to learning to play the piano. The lesson menu crafts the illusion that you are sitting at a piano with the menu controls cleverly placed on animated keys. The first lesson for new users is actually a tutorial on how to navigate the menu, which makes using the program easier than finding middle C. There are also video tutorials and examples on how to use the recording station.

Feature Set:  

Teach Me Piano Deluxe is made up of both oral and video lessons. You can replay lessons, skip to a specific one, or even exit the program and have your progress saved at that exact location in the lesson so you can return later.

You can also print out any of the sheet music stored in the program's song database, as well as any MIDI song that you import. Teach Me Piano Deluxe contains a special feature called Soundcheck that tests the audio capabilities of your computer. If there are any problems it provides configuration tips and a troubleshooting guide.

Teach Me Piano Deluxe has a Musician's Reference section which contains a glossary of music notation and terms, a guide to understanding MIDI and synthesis and a history of keyboards and pianos. This feature is great for students dedicated to going the extra mile.

Ease of Installation:  

We did not encounter any problems during this program's installation.

Lesson Coverage:  

Teach Me Piano Deluxe covers everything you need to know in order to play the piano, including over 150 lessons and 75 songs, as well as instruction on everything from reading music to playing intervals. In addition, each lesson comes with helpful hints for improving your technique and getting the most out of your practice.

Practice Options:  

Teach Me Piano Deluxe can track multiple users and keeps progress reports that you can access at any time. It has a recording station and a workshop for composing music-you can even practice along with a virtual orchestra.

If a certain section of the musical piece is a little difficult for you, then use the range selection tool. Simply specify which part of the piece you want to work on and it will create a loop that you can repeat as many times as you would like.

There are three basic games that you can play to help improve your knowledge, sight reading and play by ear skills. These games proved to be helpful and applicable to learning how to play the piano.

Help/Support:  

Teach Me Piano Deluxe comes with a chord dictionary and a user manual. Voyetra offers email support and phone services as well as a FAQs section on their website.

Summary:  

Teach Me Piano Deluxe is a well-rounded and accommodating teaching tool for the piano or keyboard. The graphics are not the best we have seen, but the program makes up for it by its attention to detail, variety of learning options and effective content.

This program offers more subject coverage and practice tools than any other of the products reviewed and includes extras like recording options and games, so for the price of a few traditional lessons, you can not go wrong with Teach Me Piano Deluxe.